Reggae band Morgan Heritage leader singer Peetah dies at 46

Peetah, as Peter Morgan was fondly called, was in Uganda last year with to promote their album, The Homeland.

KAMPALA | Peter Anthony Morgan, lead singer of the popular reggae band Morgan Heritage that he founded with four siblings, died Sunday at 46, his family said.

Peetah, as Peter Morgan was fondly called, was in Uganda last year with the Grammy award-winning reggae band to promote their album, The Homeland.

Morgan Heritage was also in Uganda in 2017 for a concert at Lugogo Cricket Oval.

The show was made possible by reggae star Tshaka Mayanja - now Jazz Safari - a man who has variously been stopped by fans of Morgan Heritage wondering if Peetah was in the country again because their size and style make for a doppelganger.

And while the two visits endeared them to their fans, Uganda will remember Peetah and his siblings more for bridging Jose Chameleone nad Eddy Kenzo in The Homeland album.

The album, Memmalatel "Mr Mojo" Morgan told Ugandan fans at a Listeners' Party in Kisementi last year, preaches unity and forgiveness, citing the first track, Bambulele.

The song is a call to Africans at home and abroad to stand together to protect our motherland Africa “because we can’t allow her to suffer any longer at the hands of wrong people and evildoers”.

Like many international musicians who come to Uganda - yes, the male ones at least - Morgan Heritage got enamoured with the country during their first visit.

“We believe it’s because of the abundant natural resources, fertile soils, rich wildlife, and good people, is the reason why Uganda is known as the Pearl of Africa and we couldn’t talk, rather dedicate the album to Africa and forget Uganda," Mojo explained of their decision to feature Chameleone and Kenzo.

Morgan Heritage began touring in the early 1990s. Their first album, Miracle, was released on the MCA Records in 1994, according to VP Records, a reggae label that released several of the band’s other albums.

'Colossal loss'

As tributes poured in for Peetah on Sunday, the family asked for privacy in a statement posted on social media.

They did not not share a cause of death but thanked the people for showing Peetah love and giving the family support.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness wrote on the X that the Peetah's death was a "colossal loss" for Jamaica and reggae music and that it had left his “heart is heavy”.

Peetah was born to Jamaican reggae star Denroy Morgan. With the family root deeply interwoven in music, Peetah and his siblings were almost destined to follow their father's footsteps.

But the siblings went a step better - they formed Morgan Heritage in 1994 as a family band. Roy, Una and Nakhamyah “Lukes” completed the band lineup.

“If you follow reggae music and country music, it’s a lot of storytelling,” Morgan told The Associated Press in 2018. “In reggae we tell the story of people suffering.”

Like The Homeland album was a fusion of different sounds, especially from Africa, Morgan Heritage has been the masters of blending.

AllMusic.com described its sound as a blend of “elements of roots reggae, lovers rock, soul, R&B, calypso, gospel, dub, and on occasion, funk and dancehall.”

Musically, everything, literally.

For some early albums, including Protect Us Jah (1997) and Don’t Haffi Dread (1999), Morgan Heritage worked with Bobby Digital, one of Jamaica’s most influential producers.

But it was Strictly Roots (2015) that got them the hottest calls as it won the best reggae album of the year at the 2015 Grammy Awards.